Polytracks Are They Safe...seems maybe not

[scooby3051 11,931]

While I do not care much for the writer the photographic evidence looks to be very compelling and worrying to say the least.They should be discussed and investigated before more accidents happen.Take note in the photos of the lack of covering over the bitumen base...a ticking time bomb.

 

                                               18th September 2024

 Introduction:

On behalf of many owners who have approached me with grave concerns about the safety of our 3 poly tracks in NZ, namely Riccarton, Awapuni & Cambridge, I have been asked to carry out a private investigation, detailed below. In essence we are concerned about the carnage that has been exposed by way of inviting owner feedback through a Social Media Facebook page called Thoroughbred Chat NZ. For clarity, as the author of this report, I own 70 Thoroughbred horses located in the Hawkes Bay, Canterbury, Victoria and in NSW.  35 of them now two and three year olds in their racing development phase.

Like most of those who contributed to this investigation, nearly all of us are supporters of poly track surfaces for winter racing, training and trial/jumpout education but only if they are safe and FIT FOR PURPOSE. We thank Winston Peters for his support of racing in bringing about outsourced funding to enable us to have this wet weather option for our high value horses.

As part of the investigation I have spoken with horse ambulance staff, re-homers, track maintenance people with decades of experience, jockeys, trainers and the owners who have supported us in this investigation … but more particularly I have referred this matter to offshore & local experts [concussion tests included] and have received reports that have confirmed the concerns that were easily arrived at.

The most concerning aspect of my inquiries is that nearly all contributors to my inquiry wanted to remain confidential because they fear authoritative reprisals for speaking out about the harm that these tracks have brought to our Jockeys and our horses. For them, I will respect their wishes in holding back numerous communications I have had with them to protect them because I have identified a number of actions that could be described as bullying and blame shedding, in one case a licence holder being threatened to have his licence withdrawn.

In short, this is a serious issue of human and animal welfare.

 SUMMARY FINDINGS:

There are a multitude of factors that we would like to bring to the attention of those responsible for the accumulative deaths and injuries to riders and our horses this last 2 years since the 3 poly tracks were installed. 

For the sake of simplicity, the primary concern is the growing number of horses that have broken their legs [various complications] on Raceday through lack of cushion and consistency on these tracks, many resulting in the horses being put down. The actual numbers are difficult to ‘finite’ because while the recorded deaths might say 7 for Riccarton that have occurred shortly after a racing, jumpout or trials event, many have returned to their stables to be found days later with debilitating injuries that, in some cases, make them unsuitable for re-homing and have had to be humanely destroyed.

Other injuries are less sinister and result in our horses being referred to veterinary care, or spelled for long periods to allow suspected hairline fractures or injuries to heal.

To put it more plainly, one Polytrack Manager in Ireland said that if their Irish bred horses were to run on a track like Riccarton, which I have now assessed, there would likely be 5 deaths per meeting. Much because their horses have lighter bone and aren’t trained on “concrete” surfaces to build up bone density. 

It was the growing number of these deaths and injuries that have underwritten the need for this investigation. Owners have been asking why their valuable horses are still falling victim to these unforgiving surfaces.

In summary, the depth and consistency of the poly surfaces is grossly inadequate.

On Sunday the 15th of September I undertook my own assessment of the Riccarton track having already heard of similar carnage at Awapuni and Cambridge tracks with their growing death & injury lists.

What I found was shocking.

Part qualified to have an opinion on this subject, I completed a unit in Soil Science at Lincoln University, I have completed many subdivisions requiring hard base roading [similar to the road mat used for polytracks] .. and I am a well accomplished rider myself who is familiar with the need for cushioned surfaces on which to gallop our horses at half pace and beyond, beach training my greatest preference in terms of ‘best’ surface conditions for cushion, consistency and sideway movement which is kind to a horses joints and fine bone structures. Particularly with young stock.

I’m an animal lover as are most of the people who contributed to this investigation. As owners we have a close relationship with our riders, and their welfare is just as important to us.

This is what I found at Riccarton to my horror. Using a pointed measuring stick with white markers at 50mm, 100mm and 200mm I walked the entire track which was 18 metres wide and nearly 1900 metres in circumference. I had a witness and ‘Secretary’ with me taking notes as I zig-zagged around the entire track taking up to 1000 measurements from inside out.

The average depth or thickness of the poly overlay [on top of a rock hard road mat] was just 50mm, in old terms, 2 inches.

 

  

   

If that wasn’t enough to set the bells ringing [now knowing why we have horse & jockey carnage], along the back straight I counted close to 30 patches per 100 metres where there was absolutely no poly cover to protect the horse from smashing its foot into that hard road mat surface. It improved into the front straight but then deteriorated again thereafter.

 Not much more needs to be said.

This finding can only be reasonably described in conclusion as a SUICIDE TRACK, almost like playing Russian roulette with your horse, whether knowing its dangers or not prior to racing on it or galloping at speed during training, trial or jump-out events. 

This report in no way criticises the Track Manager at Riccarton or those at Cambridge & Awapuni because they can only work with the materials and machinery they’ve been given. Looking at these photos above it is patently clear that 50mm of cover is probably only a THIRD of what we need as a minimum when comparing poly tracks in Ireland, England and Australia. Polytracks in Ireland and England are on average 175mm in depth. In Australia, ranging from 100mm to 150mm with the better ones in that higher range or better.

In fact, Alan Chapman at Riccarton has probably done a remarkable job with what he has been given.

In conclusion of the summary findings, it is not difficult to arrive at a rough estimate that deaths and injuries on these poly surfaces compared to our grass surfaces [often poorly prepared too]  is likely in the region of 400% higher with Darin Balcombe suggesting to me at the recent Roadshow that it was 200% up .. which this report doesn’t intend to argue over other than to say that in the authors opinion this is the biggest cover-up I’ve seen in racing in my 40 years of participating here in New Zealand. 

I’m ashamed of what I’ve found and my greatest sympathy goes out to the family of Taiki Yanagida who lost his life at Cambridge where the undersurface was so hard that it ripped his helmet clean off. I also pass on my sympathy to our top rider Lisa Allpress whose horse broke its  leg underneath her after passing the line at Riccarton. Lisa sustained a broken back when hitting the hard rock track and spent time in hospital. 

The sub 1.22 times for mid grade horses on this track over 1400 metres tell us that the track is lightning hard.

Putting concussion injuries & deaths aside, the other aspect that concerns us owners is now understanding why our Track Managers are unable to irrigate pre race meeting or even on exercise days because it will soften and compromise the road mat with the shallow depth of poly not able to stop it from permeating its way through. The significance of this is that the dust fibres and kickback can ultimately affect the respiratory system of our valuable horses, perhaps not a lot different to asbestos poisoning. Watering of poly tracks in Australia and Europe is often standardised to avoid this.

 

SYSTEMIC FAILINGS:

Given the serious nature of the findings it is not easy to point the finger at anyone in particular. For the purpose of this investigation I will kindly list those who may wish to share some responsibility for what has occurred this last two years in regard to human and horse losses,  with injury occurrences inflated well beyond an acceptable SAFETY level.

1.  Racing Industry Board

It is the authors understanding that Chief Stipendiary Steward John Oatham and his staff are responsible for checking racing surfaces before the start of each meeting, whether it’s grass or poly surface.

What I saw and witnessed during my assessment on Sunday was a track most definitely NOT fit for purpose and it shocks me that Stipendiary control have not concluded the same. The photos above [of which I have many more] show a serious shortage of poly cover across the entire track and multiple areas of rock hard bare patches.

On evidence, racing, trials or jump-outs should never have proceeded on this track.

2. Martin Collins .. polytrack installers [approx. $50 million project]

These are dual hemisphere contractors in the construction of poly track racing venues. For them there is a DUTY OF CARE that they engineer, design and build a surface that is SAFE and fit for purpose for both horse and rider.

3. NZ Thoroughbred Racing [NZTR]

As our code body there is a duty of care to protect our valuable horses and assure the safety of our riders through their incorporated club members who own and operate these poly track racing venues at Riccarton, Awapuni and Cambridge.

Months ago I raised this serious issue of horse and rider carnage with both the CEO Bruce Sharrock and with Animal Welfare appointee Justine Slater, often copying in Darin Balcombe, or vice versa. In 3 of those written correspondences I received no response. I twice asked for the email contacts of our representative Board members at NZTR and, again, was ignored and not responded to.

 

4. Polytrack Clubs [Riccarton, Awapuni & Cambridge]

I’m referring here to the Canterbury Jockey Club, RACE consortium and to the Cambridge Jockey Club who are now part of Waikato Racing.

Again, they have a DUTY OF CARE to provide and prepare a track surface that is safe for horses and rider. This duty is part of their track maintenance program and the obvious challenges that come with that if resourcing Track Managers with an appropriate quantity of poly and the appropriate machinery to maintain it. During my investigation I received a claim that Tim Mills, CEO, reduced the quantity of poly supplied under contract at Riccarton so that the total spend would come under budget to please the CJC board members, something I hope is not true.

5. Trainers Representatives

This investigation raised serious concerns that our representative trainers in each region hadn’t alerted their owners to the major problems resulting from these tracks with horse wastage [injuries & deaths] so high. When asking this question of why our South Island Trainers Representative hadn’t wanted to take this as an issue through to the Association and/or directly onto NZTR, it became clear that the trainer involved liked the small fields to run his ‘end of life’ horses on with less regard for animal welfare than perhaps other trainers. Money being the overriding factor in keeping his stable viable.

6. Programming Committees.

The tragedy of the investigation findings is that the Programming Committees were clearly not aware of the poly track carnage where, in the main, they forced many trainers into racing their clients horses on the poly track because the program didn’t allow adequate opportunity for racing on the safer grass surfaces during the winter months.

In Canterbury here, as an example, my understanding is that the secreted Programming Committee is made up of Tim Mills as Chair and Michael Pitman who is a big supporter of poly track racing according to feedback I got from him last Saturday through one of my 5 trainers here in Canterbury. Michael was unhappy that I had undertaken this investigation.

 

OWNER REQUESTS:

A.   Cease racing on the 3 poly tracks in NZ immediately.

B.   Find solutions that will restore these valuable tracks to being safe & fit for purpose.

C.   Compensate victims for their losses.

If the facts provided above are not already obvious to those responsible for safety in racing, I am happy to further contribute to any inquiry that might be aimed at starting the track rehabilitation process as soon as possible.

As the author of this report I only but wish that we have 3 very good poly tracks here in NZ to enhance the opportunities to ALL stakeholders and trust that the views and evidences above are treated with the respect they deserve.

Yours Sincerely,

 

Colin Wightman

 

[scooby3051 11,931]

Just for clarities sake and as I said at the start of the previous post I am not a fan of the writer.

Riccarton was groomed this morning to a depth of 140mm so if it was only 50mm and uncovered as suggested there would have been one of two things happen.

1 Parts of the base being broken and dragged up during grooming or

2 Broken Tynes on the grooming machinery.

Neither of which happened.

Definitely Neds more INDEPENDANT investigation to arrive at a impartial conclusion.

The writer is a known antagonist and has been banned from posting in many places previously.

Lets see where this ends up.

[nomates 4,512]

This will all fall on deaf ears , hear no evil , see no evil , speak no evil .

[racingoutsider 86]

17 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

Riccarton was groomed this morning to a depth of 140mm so if it was only 50mm and uncovered as suggested there would have been one of two things happen.

1 Parts of the base being broken and dragged up during grooming or

2 Broken Tynes on the grooming machinery.

Neither of which happened.

Where did you hear that? My advice was that it was to be closed at 9am this morning so power harrowing could be completed today.

From: Alan Chapman <alan@riccartonpark.co.nz>
Date: Tue, Sep 17, 2024 at 12:44 PM
Subject: poly
To: TRAINERS - Riccarton Park <riccartontrainers@riccartonpark.co.nz>

 

With the poly being power harrowed Thursday 19^th and Friday 20^th    the track will have to close at 9am Friday

Poly track will be closed on Friday as power harrow will only be halfway through

[scooby3051 11,931]

Sorry I should have been clear, yes it was groomed to a depth of 140mm using power harrows as is required a few times each year.

[We're Doomed 5,370]

I don't know the writer at all, but I have seen his name mentioned in the past and I have seen him pop up as the owner of some decent horses.

I found the article very interesting and well written. I have no idea how accurate and scientific it is, but think it is important that someone is interested enough to do a study like this.

It does concern me that Riccarton insist of holding AWT racing in Dec purely as marketing ploy. Basically they want to try and make some money from pre Xmas events, but they don't want to use their grass track. This doesn't show a lot of concern for horse welfare.

I don't think NZTR have done a particularly good job with the introduction of AWT racing. They don't seem to know exactly how to best integrate it into the NZ racing scene. One thing it certainly hasn't achieved is a reduction in the number of abandonments.

I imagine the next step from NZTR is to decide how many more existing tracks they can close and replace with more AWT racing, so in that respect this report is quite timely.

[chevy86 2,823]

54 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

Sorry I should have been clear, yes it was groomed to a depth of 140mm using power harrows as is required a few times each year.

So, just to be clear, the track is allowed to get rock hard, without barely any" top" as the informant found it last Sunday, before it is deemed necessary to restore a "top" of 140-150mm. Surely for both training and racing safety it should NEVER be allowed to reach that level of compaction. JMO as a long-term lay agronomist/farmer.

[scooby3051 11,931]

Not sure that is the case either, but it does need the power harrows 3 to 4 times a year, not sure what they do between times. 

[racingoutsider 86]

1 hour ago, scooby3051 said:

Sorry I should have been clear, yes it was groomed to a depth of 140mm using power harrows as is required a few times each year.

Thanks for the clarification but I fail to see how power harrowing will magically raise the areas that are 0-100mms up to 140mms. I doubt it was 140mms anywhere a couple of weeks ago. Where does the extra material come from?

[racingoutsider 86]

29 minutes ago, chevy86 said:

So, just to be clear, the track is allowed to get rock hard, without barely any" top" as the informant found it last Sunday, before it is deemed necessary to restore a "top" of 140-150mm. Surely for both training and racing safety it should NEVER be allowed to reach that level of compaction. JMO as a long-term lay agronomist/farmer.

That is not a compacted base that you see in the bare patches. That is the asphalt substrate. The measurements were taken form there to the surface.

 

[scooby3051 11,931]

4 minutes ago, racingoutsider said:

That is not a compacted base that you see in the bare patches. That is the asphalt substrate. The measurements were taken form there to the surface.

 

Thats why I say it needs independent inspection and reporting, who is to say that the person doing the reporting did not just simply kick the top layer away to reveal the base...to strengthen his argument...we need to keep an open mind as sometimes things are not as they are portrayed.

[JJ Flash 2,317]

2 hours ago, We're Doomed said:

I don't know the writer at all,

Your incredibly lucky then IMHO. He's had a lot of trainers and all the ones i know were pleased to see him depart.

Suggest you go to his FB page to get an idea of what occupies his mind

I looked up the TB Chat site he mentions in the report and  nothing appeared as its actually called RacingTB Chat for those that are interested

 

[Whyisit 238]

26 minutes ago, scooby3051 said:

Thats why I say it needs independent inspection and reporting, who is to say that the person doing the reporting did not just simply kick the top layer away to reveal the base...to strengthen his argument...we need to keep an open mind as sometimes things are not as they are portrayed.

Perhaps the jockeys should go out and do their heels, prodders test before they race ride.

[chevy86 2,823]

2 hours ago, racingoutsider said:

That is not a compacted base that you see in the bare patches. That is the asphalt substrate. The measurements were taken form there to the surface.

 

Bloody hell, that's even worse!

[Irish 285]

I don't know Colin Wightman - certainly not in the Biblical sense.  

Seems to me we have two schools of thought.

#1.  He has his head up his bum and doesn't know what he's talking about or

#2.  He has a point.

Your choice to believe #1 or #2.

However, let's say NZTR, Entain and the Stipes all say the poly tracks are wonderful. Best thing since sliced bread and, in their considered opinion, Mr. Wightman should be sent somewhere - preferably a padded cell. 

In view of some of the rubbish information (or should that be disinformation) they have thrown at us over various isues, can we believe them??  

If we say we can't, what will it change??

I find myself disillusioned with NZ racing and can see how it has changed over the years I've been here, not I hasten to add, that any shortcomings can be attributed to me.

I would give my opinion on those running the industry but poor Scooby might have an apoplectic fit and that would never do.   

[scooby3051 11,931]

I would give my opinion on those running the industry but poor Scooby might have an apoplectic fit and that would never do.   

Haha I think we would probably agree LOL.

[KellyAnne 53]

It would be good to see actual stats re injuries, fatalities rather than anecdotal stuff. Presumably there is a more complete report which includes evidence and data?

[stodge 2,222]

From 13,000 miles away, I have to say Polytrack surfaces have become an integral part of racing in England, France and Ireland.

We also have Tapeta surfaces and whether that's a route NZ could or should have followed is academic. I've no sense fatalities are an issue or have been since they stopped hurdle racing many years ago. Fields at Dundalk, Chantilly, Kempton and Lingfield are strong especially in the early winter and there seem few trainers unwilling to run juveniles on them in November and December.

We've had synthetic surfaces for over 30 years and Polytrack for more than 20 at Lingfield replacing earlier Equitrack and Fibresand surfaces.

If this report is correct, the installation of the NZ surfaces seems to have been problematic at best. I sense there's a strain of opinion against racing on synthetic surfaces and that existed both in England, Ireland and France in the early days of the new surfaces but we have multiple Group 1 winners who have run on them and NOTABLE SPEECH, this year's English 2000 Guineas. won the classic on his first experience of racing on grass.

All that being said, IF there are or have been serious deficiencies in how the tracks were constructed, they need to be addressed and I imagine Martin Collins and his people have given plenty of guidance on track preparation. Over here, harrowing is a requirement especially in the depths of winter and the harrowing can slow the surface down - we've found rain on the Polytrack surface can make it quicker despite the drainage within the surface fabric. We have had, in the middle of prolonged snowy and frosty spells, meetings put on specifically for jump horses to have a run - the races are called Bumpers for Jumpers - and the surface is deep harrowed to produce something akin to good winter turf rather than the usual which should be like good summer turf.

Oddly enough, they also deep harrow in the middle of hot spells as well to ensure the top doesn't dry out too much.

[Pam Robson 1,740]

I don't think the merits, per se, of alternative surfaces are what is in question. 

[Dundalk 6]

Hi Stodge . This should never have had the chance of going public,it’s amazing the wings a story develops & I am compelled to be very reserved in what I say. I am with you , they have revolutionised the Flat industry in Europe and I’m a big advocate of them. The security of knowing everything should be the same Daily is an advantage in any industry. we have trained winners and ridden work on them in ire/England and the states over the last 12 years I’d say, our local is Dundalk 10 minutes from home and my wife trained on it for the last two years cantering/Galloping and schooling races, the 3 tracks here are worlds apart that’s the problem. We have collected the maintenance schedules and passed them onto the trainers association. We also flew a lower grade(3time winner at Dundalk ) nicely bred mare we bred down earlier in the year and while she didn’t acclimatise well at all we have been afraid to run her on them. What they do in Europe and what they do here is not comparable in the slightest, as a result they play very different, a lethal Pan develops on them that’s never allowed in Europe and they don’t have the machinery they do at home. The sad issue was the backlash when these issues were raised.A number of months ago i requested Head of tracks to visit and some of the issues were noted then, this seemed to be in good Faith. We have had a few horses in training with David omeara and got to look and have runners on a number of them England . They all have little differences but never anything other than safe I think over a 3year period Newcastle & Wolverhampton had 11700 runners for 3 fatals(one of those was galloped into behind and severed a tendon) Wolverhampton in particular walked nice the few times I seen it. Dundalk is a Masterclass in preparation and Declan Dunne loves the track. Even with the good horse going over the Southwell last night I think the depth there is 10 inch. And they go deep enough to break any chance a pan had to form within 5/7 days of racing & the top of the track is beautifully level whether they wheel in or not. They are a huge asset to an industry but they have to be got right and it’s not nice what has taken place here to ensure silence was kept. Trainers I agree are at a  disadvantage as they never seen the tracks before . one champion trainer that walked it recently with me knew straight away. The few riders that have ridden on them overseas also commented on the difference. These are not easy maintenance and when they are wrong they will cause significant damage. Hopefully everyone can put the silly games behind and get them better. 

[stodge 2,222]

Thanks for the comment, my friend, and I appreciate you may have to be careful with that you say.

I was slightly surprised Aidan chose to bring CITY OF TROY to Southwell to work on the Tapeta rather than go to Dundalk but that's his business and I presume Southwell offered the American-style stalls with the bell and it's perhaps more like an American track than other all-weather venues.

Dundalk is a magnificent track and hopefully Tipperary will be as good when it opens. Given its location, I imagine Aidan will be using it a lot if it meets his exacting requirements. The winter evening cards at Dundalk are fiercely competitive and the prize money puts the UK to shame and it seems to dovetail well with the greyhound stadium.

I'm sure there's scope for further meetings perhaps in the early spring when Irish turf courses can be a little damp (no offence). If an English 2000 Guineas winner like NOTABLE SPEECH can win a classic on his first run on grass, I could imagine an Irish colt or filly going down the same route in time.

[Insider 4,520]

I don’t know why we never went with Tapeta as the surface. Everything that I had read suggested that it was/is the superior synthetic surface.
Michael Dickinson even came to NZ many years ago to talk to people at NZTR as I actually met him at Trentham at the time.

Anyway I asked one of the key players on why they were choosing Polytrack when it’s acknowledged that Tapeta is the superior surface and was told that “the supplier was Australian based and had experience in this part of the world”.

I guess that I tried, but I couldn’t believe it, but in my wildest dreams, I expected the current outcome with the backlash that appears out there.

Incidentally at the very beginning I had a runner on the Cambridge track in the first year.  In her first couple of starts on it handled it really well and in fact ran an excellent 2nd, just getting caught after being 2L clear with 50m to go. Then at her next start which was in one of the $40k maiden races that they put on there, she disappointed dropping right away. It was very disappointing and a head scratcher. The outcome was that she simply didn’t handle the much deeper conditions that the track manager prepared on the day. In fact the form for the whole day was turned upside down, so taking a line through that, it appears that at least Cambridge has plenty of “top” to work with. 
 

[racingoutsider 86]

NYRA Winter Racing to be All Tapeta by 2026

Monday, July 1, 2024 at 1:12 pm | 

Updated: July 1, 2024 at 4:56 pm

 

 

Construction of Tapeta surface at Belmont Park

The one-mile Tapeta track currently under construction at Belmont Park will become the exclusive winter racing surface on the New York Racing Association circuit when the Long Island facility reopens in 2026, NYRA announced Monday. The change will result in approximately three months of racing exclusively on an all-weather surface with the shift from dirt to the all-weather in the winter months expected to enhance equine safety and provide additional opportunities for the circuit's year-round horse population for the benefit of the state's Thoroughbred racing ecosystem.

“At its core, our vision for the new Belmont Park is centered around modernizing racing and training facilities in ways that will ensure the sport's continued success and future growth,” said Dave O'Rourke, NYRA President and CEO. “NYRA has closely tracked the evolution and application of synthetic surfaces, and the relevant data unequivocally supports a shift to the all-weather surface during the winter months.

“Together with the renovated main track and two new turf courses, Belmont Park will provide a multitude of quality options for both training and racing throughout the year,” added O'Rourke. “We will continue to work closely with New York's horsemen and breeders to ensure a smooth transition as the new facility takes shape.”

O'Rourke is chairman of the All-Weather Surfaces Committee, formed this February at the request of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (HISA). The committee is tasked with evaluating the impact of various racing surfaces on equine injury rates, while studying the feasibility of broader adoption of all-weather surfaces nationally.

“HISA commends NYRA for prioritizing horse safety in its decision to utilize an all-weather racing surface at Belmont Park for winter racing,” said Lisa Lazarus, HISA CEO. “NYRA has shown tremendous leadership through the research and analysis it has undertaken in making these important decisions for the future of the sport.”

NYRA has invested in upgrades to a variety of racing and training facilities at Belmont Park, Aqueduct Racetrack and Saratoga Race Course in recent years, including the installation of an all-weather Tapeta surface over the Belmont Park pony track and the complete renovation of the main track and Oklahoma Training Track at Saratoga.

At Aqueduct, NYRA has renovated the main track; replaced the inner dirt with a second turf course and added a new surface to the inner turf course, all since 2017.

Following the installation of a limestone base topped by a clay pad, the dirt surfaces at Saratoga now respond exceedingly well to extreme weather, while the clay pad offers a more forgiving surface. According to The Jockey Club Equine Injury Database, the dirt surfaces at Saratoga have been the statistically safest among NYRA tracks each year since 2021.

To achieve consistency with the dirt racing and training surfaces at Saratoga, the main track at the new Belmont Park will feature a limestone base topped with a clay pad below the racing surface itself. This structure, which has proven to be effective in the wide variety of weather conditions found at Saratoga from April through November, is expected to be similarly beneficial for the main track surface at the new Belmont Park.

“The harmonization of NYRA's dirt surfaces is yet another important equine safety measure in New York,” said Andrew Offerman, NYRA Senior Vice President of Racing and Operations. “Aligning the composition of the Belmont main track with both dirt surfaces at Saratoga will further NYRA's ability to conduct world-class dirt racing in the spring, summer and fall.”

In addition to the construction of a new main track and all-weather Tapeta track, NYRA is currently renovating and expanding Belmont's Widener and Inner turf courses. As a result, both courses will feature additional running lanes, modern drainage and a state-of-the-art irrigation system serviced by a new infield irrigation pond and on-site pump station.

NYRA officials are hopeful that the improvements to both surfaces and facilities will facilitate a return of the Breeders' Cup to New York. The championship event has not been held in the state since 2005.

“We are very supportive of the Belmont Park renovation, particularly plans to put in place a world-class facility with fantastic racing surfaces that offer versatility and the ability to address various seasons and weather conditions,” said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited. “As we said before, if you build it, we will come. We look forward to working with the New York Racing Association to bring the Breeders' Cup World Championships back to the Empire State when the time is right.”

In a statement released following NYRA's announcement, the New York Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association offered the following response with NYTHA President Tina Marie Bond stating: “The feedback from the vast majority of New York's owners and trainers was clearly against being limited to synthetic racing for three months in the winter. Our horsemen and women voiced support for having the option to race on the dirt year-round, as we know that there are many horses that do not make the transition to synthetic surfaces successfully, whether they race primarily on dirt or turf. We have also been encouraged by the vastly improved safety record of dirt tracks, including at Aqueduct this past winter. I have voiced our concerns, and will continue to talk to NYTHA membership and NYRA leadership about addressing those concerns. But, ultimately, we are committed to working together with NYRA, the Gaming Commission, and our representatives in Albany to ensuring that the Thoroughbred industry in New York thrives year-round.”

[Dundalk 6]

7 hours ago, stodge said:

Thanks for the comment, my friend, and I appreciate you may have to be careful with that you say.

I was slightly surprised Aidan chose to bring CITY OF TROY to Southwell to work on the Tapeta rather than go to Dundalk but that's his business and I presume Southwell offered the American-style stalls with the bell and it's perhaps more like an American track than other all-weather venues.

Dundalk is a magnificent track and hopefully Tipperary will be as good when it opens. Given its location, I imagine Aidan will be using it a lot if it meets his exacting requirements. The winter evening cards at Dundalk are fiercely competitive and the prize money puts the UK to shame and it seems to dovetail well with the greyhound stadium.

I'm sure there's scope for further meetings perhaps in the early spring when Irish turf courses can be a little damp (no offence). If an English 2000 Guineas winner like NOTABLE SPEECH can win a classic on his first run on grass, I could imagine an Irish colt or filly going down the same route in time.

For sure, and Dundalk is a drive late at night from the south. It’s a great venue and over time  we had plenty of 2yos/ Breeze up horses as well as jumpers use it and I can say we haven’t had an issue other than a sore eye, It had a few issues a number of years back but the difference between here and there was Ger Lyons in particular had his say and things were put right. Unless participants have the ability to give opinions and get things changed for the better it’s not very healthy. You will have differences in all surfaces, Tapeta, the Dirt, HK even the firm Turf in Japan and animals are great at adaption, but the major concern is inconsistency, that is what causes trouble. A particularly smart individual that  analyses the performance of these tracks and has walked all of them in Europe, went over the entire track with me and we were both of the same opinion. Things had to change before something went badly wrong. There needs to be a better system in place for having a say. 
it’s a wonderful endorsement of the surfaces that the Enables /Notable speech’s, city of Troy’s etc use them and without a doubt they play a big part in getting the horse population ready to run away from Raceday.  I have spoken to Michael Dickinson and Mick Peterson in the US and they definitely said the environment plays a part in how the different artificial surfaces preform but there is no excuse for the way they are at present here. 

[JJ Flash 2,317]

On 9/21/2024 at 4:53 AM, Pam Robson said:

I don't think the merits, per se, of alternative surfaces are what is in question. 

So what are your thoughts on the Riccarton Polytrack as you see it first hand every day?